New Bark Town
by AnonOrange-FFA
Summary: Ethan and Lyra finally find something on the news that's worth watching - their idol.


This one is a very short one-shot, I think it was a request but I don't remember. Short, sweet, straight to the point.

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine in any way, shape or form.

* * *

"Ethan! Quick, he's on tv!"

Ethan almost slipped off the chair he was standing on in the kitchen. He grabbed the packet of biscuits from the top shelf and ran back into the living room where he plonked himself down on the couch. Next to him, Lyra was too excited to even notice the stolen packet of biscuits between them. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, her socked toes just able to skim the carpet.

"Like now?" Ethan asked.

"Ssh! They're talking about him! He's gonna be on soon." Lyra shushed him just in time.

Ethan didn't know it but he was trembling with excitement as well. They were both knew who they were waiting to see; more importantly, they knew why they were waiting to see him. New Bark Town was a quiet place where nothing ever happened. The most interesting person to live there was Professor Elm but they could hardly idolise him; he was a researcher, not a trainer. People didn't just happen to visit their town unless they had a very good reason to pass through Tohjo Falls.

Ethan and Lyra had known for their entire lives that their town, while small and dull, was the place that trainers had to pass through on their way to the Indigo Plateau in Kanto. They shared a pride in their town and spent their weekends running through the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of those trainers strong enough to take on the Elite Four. Neither of them had ever seen anyone of significance if they didn't count Professor Oak and they preferred not to; like Elm, he was a researcher and they didn't want to be researchers, they wanted to be trainers. Masters. Like him.

"Why isn't he saying anything?"

"Shh!"

"He's not even talking!"

"Shh, Ethan!"

"But he's not saying anything, what am I talking on top of?"

"Ethan!" The pitch of Lyra's voice rose every time she scolded him.

"What? There's nothing happening!"

"He's the _champion_, Ethan! He just won!"

"I'm not stupid. He's the most awesome guy ever, I'm totally gonna be him when I grow up."

"No you're not."

"Says who?"

"You're not cool enough to be Red." Lyra giggled, the tv report forgotten for the moment. "And you wear your hat the wrong way." She reached out and twisted Ethan's cap around so the peak was facing forwards. "He's still cooler." She concluded.

"I can be cool!"

"Shh!" She said, pointing to the tv.

"But he's not Saying Anything!" Ethan slumped down in a huff. "I don't think he ever says anything."

"He has to say something some time. How does he tell people when he's hungry?"

"He probably just has to look at someone and they go and get him anything that he wants."

"What about when he's sick and has to go to the Doctor? I'll bet he has to tell the Doctor what's wrong." Lyra said. "Or the Doctor would say 'what's wrong, Red' and then if he didn't say anything he wouldn't get the right medicine and he'd be sick forever."

"He's too cool to get sick." Ethan informed her.

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah. He's RED, Lyra! He can do anything."

"Not anything."

"I bet he can."

"He can't make you look cool."

"Hey shut up!"

Lyra giggled. Ethan tore open the pack of stolen biscuits and held them out for her.

"You can have any of them except the ones with the orange icing. Take the pink ones. You like pink."

"Says who?" She took one of the pink ones anyway. "HEY!" She shouted suddenly, causing Ethan to spit out a mouthful of crumbs.

"What?"

"I think he's gonna say something!" Lyra jumped off the couch and threw herself onto the floor much closer to the tv.

"He's not, he never does."

"He might, shut up!" She turned up the volume slightly. They both sat staring at the television watching the news unfold. The reporter would ask a question and Red would shrug, or nod, anything to avoid giving a direct answer. "Hey!"

"Hey!" They both shouted in unison as Red was dragged away from the media by someone before he could answer a question. The report was cut short and the anchor went on to talking about logging in the Ilex Forest.

That was the moment they both realised that they didn't want to be Pokemon trainers. In the three years that followed both Lyra and Ethan maintained that they would be Pokemon Masters and Ethan claimed that he would be the first to be Champion. Lyra liked to let him think that, but she knew he was too hasty and did things without thinking them through. Even when they play-battled with imaginary Pokemon he would lose because of his inability to think things through to an end. She just giggled and told him what he was doing wrong; he never wanted to hear it. As their birthdays drew nearer they both claimed to know which Pokemon they wanted to start with; Ethan was going to wait for Lyra's birthday so they could travel together. They never forgot that afternoon when they saw Red on tv after he became the Champion. They were going to be him, no matter what it took.


End file.
